Sept. 19, 2009

KINGSLEY, Mich. - The Northern Illinois men's golf team finished the first day of Michigan State's Spartan Classic in seventh-place out of 14 teams with a score of 582 through 36 holes at The Kingsley Club on Saturday. The Huskies shot a 302 in the morning 18 holes and improved in the afternoon 18 with a score of 280 as they trail leader UC-Davis (557) by 25 strokes.

"I wasn't really happy with our performance this morning," said NIU first-year head coach Tom Porten. "I lit a fire under them and we played much better in the afternoon round. They all improved and that's a good sign. They were angry at themselves but didn't let it bring them down. They knew that they could play better, and they did."

NIU sophomore Griffin Bauman (Crystal Lake, Ill./Central) led the team with a 36-hole total score of 143, posting a 76 in the first 18 and a 67 in the latter 18. Freshman Kurtis Luedtke (Aurora, Ill./West) totaled a score of 145 with a 74 and a 71, respectively. Junior Jeff Dick (Sherman, Texas/Sherman) registered a 147, shooting a 75 and a 72. Senior Matt Triplett (St. Charles, Ill./East) shot a 149 with a 79 and a 70. Freshman Paul Hammerschmidt (Westerville, Ohio/Central) came in with a 150, scoring a 77 and a 73.

The Huskies will finish the Spartan Classic tomorrow with 18 holes in the final round with an 8:30 a.m. CT start.